kim dress – Sewn by Ashley

If you follow me at all, you know I’m obsessed with dogs, and especially my own, super handsome furry friends. The moment I saw this fabric online, there was no chance I was passing it up! It’s dogs in fucking bow ties, people, everyone needs this fabric! That said, it’s quilting cotton, albeit a lightweight cotton, so it’s not the most luxurious of fabrics…

Picture taking is 100% more fun when dogs are involved.

While I love this print, I really didn’t want to do a full dress with it. I think it would be a bit overwhelming, and I like to use fabric with a teensy bit of give for bust areas. I have several yards of black stretch sateen laying around for my Halloween costume, so I opted to borrow a little from that. In my mind, the sheen would help keep the dress from looking like it was made from curtains, but still keep the focus on the cutesy print.

Yes, there is dog hair on the bodice. Deal with it.

Keeping with that train of thought, I wanted to use a fairly simple pattern. It took me awhile to finally decide, but I settled on the By Hand London Kim dress. I’ve made it before, and really like the look of it. That said…last time I really struggled with the fabric. It wrinkled like mad, and just really did not press well. As a result, it just looks kinda sloppy, all the time. Frustrating, ya know? This effort was much better, with sateen and quilting cotton being some of the easiest fabrics to press. For this version, I shortened the straps a bit (could have shortened them more!), and didn’t take the bodice in. Previously, I had taken it in a bit, and I kinda wish I had again. I like a tight bodice, and I shouldn’t give into pressure to do things any other way! Lesson learned.

I know you can barely see the dress here, but come on. HE'S SO HANDSOME — I know you can barely see the dress here, but come on. HE’S SO HANDSOME

For the skirt, I went with a modified version of variation 2. I cut the pieces as instructed, but went with pleats instead of gathers, as is my preference. Just like with my last skirt, I used the bodice and my cutting mat grid as a guide. This time, my pleats are four squares (inches), with two inches separating them. No reasoning for that, just what I felt like doing, folks. I also added pockets, again using markings on the selvage as a guide. I know I should cut off the selvage, but…I like it.

Pleats! Also...I really should have put a red bowtie on Albus. Derp. — Pleats! Also…I really should have put a red bowtie on Albus. Derp.

I finished the zip right before photos, and totally didn’t realize how wonky it is. When I fix that, I will definitely tighten up the bodice a bit!! Also, I find that my shoulders always look wide in blog photos, but according to my measurements and the way every top has ever fit me, I don’t have even slightly wide shoulders. Has anyone else experienced this? How do you rectify it? Am I just standing weird again? HELP ME!!

Seriously, my shoulders are not this wide.

Overall, I really like this dress. I know I say that in nearly every post, but I mean it. Plus, I’ve found that the By Hand London dress block fits my shape best, within minimal alterations. Perfect, right? If I can get by with wearing dog faces on my clothes at work, this will go into the weekly rotation, and I can’t think of higher praise than that! I’ll leave you with one more picture, because I have actual decent photos again. Happy sewing 🙂

I'm told I don't look like a ham here. I'm not buyin' it. — I’m told I don’t look like a ham here. I’m not buyin’ it.

A few weeks ago, the lovely people at Minerva Crafts sent me a few yards of this lovely polka dot chambray. While chambray screams “make a Granville” to me, I wanted to do a dress. Probably because I always want to make a dress. I’d been wanting to make a Kim dress for awhile, so there you have it. Chambray Kim dress. In honesty, I was expecting the fabric to take MUCH longer to arrive (it took about a week or two), so I shamefully shelved it for a bit while I finished my other projects :/

"Hey, look how awkwardly I can stand. Pretty cool, I know" — “Hey, look how awkwardly I can stand. Pretty cool, I know”

For starters, this dress was an absolute dream to sew. The fabric cuts and sews beautifully. I whipped through the dress in a day and a half, and that’s including the time I spent unpicking (serged) things I’d sewn on upside down. Sadly, it’s just a given that I’ll sew something upside down, or backwards, or to the wrong side…I do it every time. It’s probably pathetic.

I like how this angle really shows the wrinkles from playing with puppies.

I really, really like the bodice on this pattern. I cut a straight US 10 of version 2, and the bodice fits me pretty well, though I did take in a bit. I could probably stand to shorten the straps a bit, but I’m not complaining. The bodice has princess seams, so no darts. It’s also fully lined, which I always love. I tried to follow the bodice instructions completely, and I’m glad I did. It’s an interesting way to do things (at least to a novice like myself), but the finish is really clean and the assembly is easy. That said, it’s hard to know how it’s going to fit until it’s finished. If you’re concerned about fit, definitely do a muslin! I’m terrible about making muslins. I almost never do it and that’s because I’m both very busy and very lazy. It helps that I have a fairly standard “hourglass” figure, so my fit issues are typically minimal for sleeveless dresses. Pants and jackets are another story entirely!

For the skirt, I also cut a US 10, this time of version 1. The versions are easily interchangeable, so mix it up! I personally always prefer a sweetheart neckline to a scoop. The petal skirt is what originally attracted me to this pattern, and it didn’t disappoint. There are four simple darts and a bit of pleating (pictured above), which I adore. More details about those woes in a future post! The pattern calls for basting the overlapping front portions together before attaching to the bodice, which I liked and seemed to work well. I do think next I would slim the skirt down a bit. I would for sure like something a bit more fitted. I also think I will do a stitch to hold the front pieces together. On photo day, it was pretty windy, I only narrowly avoiding a wardrobe mishap! Like always, I added some pockets, always pockets. My apologies for the wrinkly look, but there was a puppy to play with!

Okay and maybe I did a shitty job pressing the pockets. Hush.

On the back, I omitted the hook and eye. I know it looks better to have it, but I have giant man hands and they’re tiny and fiddly and I hate sewing them. It pains me. I’ve convinced myself that the zip on it’s own doesn’t look horrible, so whatever. Now that Kim is finished, I think it’s time to get more of this fabric and make that Granville! Happy sewing 🙂

OH! And I chopped my hair off!!! What up, mid life crisis?!?

Sewn by Ashley

Tag: kim dress

Dog Dress 2 (By Hand London Kim Dress)

By Hand London Kim Dress